


Ghosts Of Our Fathers

by mandsangelfox



Series: Kylex Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Burn baby burn, Gen, Project Shepherd, Real or not real?, Spooky, Tumblr Prompt, first try at spooky, kylex beginnings, kylex if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 01:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20301010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandsangelfox/pseuds/mandsangelfox
Summary: The drive was long; it seemed like Jesse Manes and Jim Valenti had a thing about wanting to keep their dirty dealings as far away from Roswell as they could. Go figure.





	Ghosts Of Our Fathers

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a Tumblr prompt given to me by an Anonymous user which was "can u write kylex + being reunited after getting separated" and I'm not entirely sure if this is what they had in mind, but I have been stuck in a spooky story time head space for a while now and this is what came of it.
> 
> In other news and as always, a massive and huge thank you to my beta and greatest cheerleader [estel-willow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/estel_willow/pseuds/estel_willow) for her ongoing support and crazy beta'ing skills!

You would think after the last not so successful venture into a makeshift alien prison that both Kyle Valenti and Alex Manes would think twice about putting themselves in the firing line again. Well, you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. There was still so much left undiscovered and countless amounts of skeletons to drag out of the back of dark closets that both their fathers seemed to own in spades. Alex and Kyle both felt like they had some sort of responsibility to right the wrongs of the past, not just because one of them had for a long time been in love with one of those said aliens, but because it was the decent thing to do and neither of them would be able to live with themselves if they didn’t do _something_.

So, obviously, when Alex turned up a new location from the many files he’d hacked from Project Shepherd both agreed without hesitation that they’d go but this time they wouldn’t take Michael. He had enough to worry about what with Max doing his best impression of Jesus and all the complications that went hand in hand with that, and the fact that Michael and Maria were sort of a… _thing_. Besides, this was their burden to bear, their damage to repair, and most importantly their road of discovery that nobody else could fully understand or navigate. At least, that was what they told themselves.

The drive was long; it seemed like Jesse Manes and Jim Valenti had a thing about wanting to keep their dirty dealings as far away from Roswell as they could. Go figure. It was already pretty dark by the time they got to the facility and if they were anybody else, and this was any other situation they would have turned right back around but they’d come prepared. Flashlights, flares, food, water, and a ton of other paraphernalia that would make sure they could fully explore and investigate because there were still too many unanswered questions.

Kyle shouldered the rucksack he’d packed (medical supplies included because he wasn’t dumb) and reached for a flashlight that, strangely, despite having had new batteries seemed to be struggling to turn on. “What the hell?” he grumbled as he knocked it against his palm until finally it co-operated.

“Everything okay?” Alex called as he pulled his own rucksack on.

“Yeah, fine,” Kyle assured him, ignoring the heavy weight now sitting in the pit of his stomach as he cast his gaze to the rather large imposing building that looked creepier than it had any right to. “You ready?”

Alex didn’t answer and was already striding towards the place with all the determination of man with nothing left to lose. “Jesus,” Kyle hissed as he quickly closed up the trunk, locked the car and hurried to catch up with Alex. “You could’ve warned me you were going to start off like a man possessed.”

Of course Alex didn’t answer him, just gave him a _look_, and rummaged out some wire cutters that he very promptly and efficiently used to cut away at the metal fence that surrounded the building though, judging by the rust which decorated practically every inch of it this place, it had been abandoned for a _very_ long time. Of course that begged the question of why as Caulfield had been very active but this? This was different. Kyle ignored the trickle of ice that ran the length of his spine and pushed away any and all misgivings that he had especially as he knew that Alex was going in with or without him. 

He’d rather it be ‘with’.

Casting a final parting look in the direction of the car, Kyle ducked under the gap in the fence and trailed after Alex. It didn’t take long for them to break the door down. In fact it took them longer to recover from all the dust and cobwebs that seemed doggedly determined to suffocate them for daring to step foot in this place. Much like Caulfield, it was set up like a prison, something from your nightmares, but the biggest and most glaring difference between this place and Caulfield was the fact this place had levels, many levels, so many it was mind boggling.

“Why’d they need so much space?” Kyle wondered aloud, glancing over at Alex.

“I don’t know,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “Maybe we’ll find out when we locate a records room or some kind of control centre.” 

There was so much ground that logically it made sense to split up but Kyle had seen one too many horror movies and knew how much of a very bad, very stupid idea that was so he didn’t even suggest it. He, just clapped Alex on the shoulder and plastered on his best fake grin which didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, the sooner we do that, the sooner we can get answers.” The _and the hell out of here_ went unspoken, but damn if it wasn’t the truth.

And with that proclamation, the pair of them descended into what effectively felt like passing into the bowels of hell. It should have been cold but, if anything, it was _blistering_ hot as if somebody or something had lit a fire in the heart of the building. For the most part they ignored it, working through the floors in a methodical pattern until they came across what looked like a crossroads of sorts, three corridors, one going straight ahead, and two more going right and left. Kyle stopped at the same time as Alex stopped and arched an eyebrow. “Was this on the map?”

Alex shook his head, vehemently. “No, no it wasn’t.” 

“Great,” Kyle blew out, “That’s not at all creepy.” He shone his flashlight down the corridor to his right, left and then directly into the one in front of them, but it didn’t seem to illuminate. It was as though the darkness was swallowing the light before it had a chance to fully travel the distance. “Any ideas which way we should head?”

When there was no reply Kyle turned where he stood and had been about to admonish Alex for not answering him but then stopped. Dead. Alex was gone. Vanished.

“What the fuck?” He uttered as he quickly turned on his heel to let his flashlight catch on the corridor behind him but nothing, absolutely _nothing_, and with a distinct feeling of dread he returned his attention to the crossroads only it like Alex was gone. Instead all he could see was a room that seemed to open up like a huge, gaping mouth. Every single cell in his body was screaming at him to stay exactly where he was or turn and run like he’d never run before in his life, not even during a football game.

“Well, shit.” Kyle pushed out a breath and swept his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm himself so as to not overreact or do something stupid because fear did that, turned you into an idiot. That would be no good, for him, or for Alex. _When_ he turned back up again Kyle was going to yell at him being a dick because vanishing like that? Big dick move.

Still, he couldn’t go back, leave without him, but it seemed like there was no other choice but to step foot into the room and hope it led somewhere else. Kyle rolled his neck, gathered his courage, and ventured into the room that seemed to engulf him. Much to his dismay, it seemed to be a dead end. Nope, he was done, he was going to find Alex Manes and to hell with this place, they were going home. Only, as if the room could sense what he was thinking, the open door behind him slammed shut and immediately Kyle went for the handle only to find it disappeared in front of him. 

What the actual fuck?

“Hey!” Kyle hollered as he slammed the flats of his hands against the door. “This isn’t funny.” And it wasn’t, it really wasn’t. He was done being scared (mostly) and now he was just pissed. It was at that precise moment his flashlight began to flicker, spluttering, struggling, and a curse escaped Kyle as he fought with it to no avail.

He was plunged into darkness. All-consuming, overwhelming _darkness_. The sort of darkness that felt heavy, oppressive, as if there was something lurking in the shadows just… waiting, and Kyle wanted no part of this. He wet his suddenly dry lips and focused on his breathing, pulling it in slow and deep, letting it out the exact same way. 

That became easier said than done when the room changed and warped around him until he was in what was a very familiar cell with one large glass pane where the door had been and he was _not_ alone. He didn’t want to look, didn’t want to confirm his worst fears, but he knew he couldn’t ignore that distinct laboured breathing for much longer, especially as it was getting closer. Kyle swallowed, turned his head and sure enough there in the room with him was the same tortured alien that had given his father the cancer that had ultimately ended his life.

“Fuck,” he pushed out before he surged forward towards the glass and he wasn’t too proud to admit that he all but beat his hands bloody against it as he called for help. He heard the alien groan, “Valenti,” and Kyle’s eyes widened as he was close, _too_ close, and he promptly turned back only to come face to face with Alex.

“Kyle?!” Alex said sharply as he crouched down beside the other man, hands scrambling to touch his shoulders and seeking his face to grip lightly as to redirect his attention from where he was just staring.. “Hey, hey, come on,” he urged, concern clear on his features.

It took Kyle a moment to realise that he was no longer in that room and was in fact huddled at the bottom of a flight of stairs with his flashlight several metres away as if he’d lost his grip on it and it was casting distorted shapes onto the nearby wall. “What- what happened?” He managed, suddenly aware of how hoarse his voice was, as if he’d been screaming for hours, as if he’d been screaming for his life. 

“You scared the shit out of me is what happened,” Alex scolded with a shake of his head. “You took off into the dark and you didn’t stop even after I called your name. What the fuck were you thinking?”

Wait, what? Kyle’s brow furrowed. “No, no, you’re the one who disappeared. At those crossroad corridors?”

“What crossroad corridors?”

“Don’t mess with me right now, Alex. You fucking vanished on me and-” And his voice broke as a sudden onslaught of emotion overwhelmed him to the point where Kyle clung to Alex and Alex, to his credit let him, even going so far as to pull him in and place a reassuring hand on the back of his head.

“Hey, it’s okay. I think we should get out of here.”

Kyle nodded his head because he quite honestly didn’t trust his voice right now and with Alex’s help he got back up to his feet but not before he’d grabbed his flashlight. It was as he heard a voice whispering his name that he swung not just himself but his light around to illuminate an empty corridor but- but he _knew_ he’d heard something. 

Alex was starting to worry. Kyle was acting weird, really weird. Being in this place was clearly bad for him so they definitely needed to get out of here and if Kyle was in agreement burn it to the ground. Better to leave no trace of this hellhole behind especially as he was starting to suspect that the reason it was abandoned was because he just got a sense that this place was evil. “C’mon,” he coaxed as he caught Kyle’s arm and pulled him in the direction of the stairs.

Had it been anyone else, Kyle would have shrugged the hand off but it was Alex and so he allowed himself to be pulled in the direction of the stairs, ignoring the distinct feeling of being watched. The sooner they got out of this place the better because Kyle liked to think he was sane and rational but what he’d experienced? Pushed all those limits. 

Getting back to the car felt longer than it had getting into the building and the further he got from it the lighter Kyle’s chest began to feel as if something was releasing its vice like grip on him though admittedly it did nothing to loosen the knot of apprehension that had settled in the pit of his stomach. As he sagged back against the car he realised that Alex was digging around in the trunk and as he turned his head he watched as he unloaded several canisters of kerosene. 

“What are those for?”

Alex peered at Kyle from around the car. “To burn this place to the ground.”

It made sense but Kyle felt for a long moment like he was watching this all play from outside of his body and for some reason he _hated_ the idea of burning it down which made zero fucking sense especially after what it had put him through. Thankfully he was able to push away those strange feelings of reluctance and got to his feet, grabbing the first canister of kerosene. 

“You sure you’re up to this?” Alex asked, peering at Kyle from beneath those ridiculously long lashes of his with warmth and concern in those dark brown depths that had at one time stripped Kyle Valenti bare to the point where he’d done everything in his power to push Alex away. Quite successfully he’d like to add. 

“Yeah, fine,” he insisted. “Let’s just get this over with.” It didn’t even matter that they’d learned absolutely nothing, the price of information was too high, and Kyle wasn’t willing to pay it. He squared his shoulders and began back towards the building to put an end to this place.

Some ghosts were better left dead and buried.


End file.
